In a compelling combination of historical adventure and romance, Kittie Templeton's book delineates the travels and tribulations of Adam Cloud in the 1790's. As a young Episcopal minister he set out on a dangerous voyage down the frontier wilderness of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, to settle in Spanish Natchez, a new world outpost of the Spanish-Catholic monarchy. His courtship and marriage, friendship with the Spanish governor and the Indian chiefs, and finally his continuing struggle for religious freedom make this an unforgettable tale. Barbara Raffert

"The Russian Revolution and Bolshevik Victory:Third Edition," edited and introduced by Ronald Suny and Arthur Adams is a wonderful up-to-date collection of essays from top-notch historians on the current historical debates surrounding the causes and actions of the Russian Revolution.

Books from the PROBLEMS IN EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION SERIES are designed for upper-level undergraduate and graduate level European history courses. That being said, this book is not an introductory text. The authors of the articles go directly into their subjects, without providing any significant background information. Therefore, you need to have an historical base level of knowledge to work from. Nonetheless, it is an excellent tool for students, scholars and general readers of modern European history.

The text is best used in class discussions and debate.

This edition has a wonderful chronology of events, which is helpful in preparing for exams.

An excellent representation on Russian historical scholarship

This is a great source of info. If you're tired of the usual, give this book a try and then you'll fly. Everything from nuts to bolts. I rate it a 4 because 5 seems too high, a 3 too low. I now have a job and am loving life, because I'm on my own two feet, well sort of, one foot. I lost the other due to gangreen, and a little thing, well lets just call it an unfortunate mishap. Anyway buy this book, and if you don't like it sell it! May the paint continue to stick to your walls, and your billfold be full.

Rodger MilHouse Thirstin the 3rd. Sr. Hot Dog Baker Hot Doggie Dog Dog 55 East Hot Dog Cir. Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Anyone who's listened to Steve on the weekend knows the man is a walking encyclopedia of car/truck/vehicle knowledge. His book focuses on those who don't know an alternator from a catalytic converter. Don't get me wrong, just because this book is for beginners, it definitely provides a massive amount of insight and attention to details.

Steve owns his own shop and addresses such things as Preventive Maintenance, diagnosing vehicle problems, choosing the right shop (he's so modest, he hardly plugs his own shop), how to decipher the repair charges, a short show & tell section with pictures of common car parts and a Q & A section that covers quite a bit!

The only complaints: Black and white pictures, no index and a bit short (under 100 pages).

Other than that, this book's great and a must buy for new car owners. If you don't believe me, check out Steve's show on the weekends on the Internet ... and you won't be disappointed. JG

Second Manassas might have been Robert E. Lee's Greatest Victory as author John Langellier asserts, but it is often neglected in Civil War history as "the other" battle fought at Bull Run rather than as a seminal event. This addition to the Osprey Campaign series is a solid overview of the campaign of Lee versus Pope in the summer of 1862 in north-central Virginia. In accordance with the standard Osprey format, the book begins with a short section on the origins of the campaign and a campaign chronology.

In a welcome departure from the short-shrift methods of other recent Osprey campaign titles, Dr. Langellier actually puts some meat on the bone concerning opposing commanders. A full 9 excellent pages are spent discussing Generals Pope, Halleck, Banks, McDowell, Sigel, Lee, Longstreet, and Jackson. The section on opposing plans is a bit short at two pages, but adequate. Likewise, the section on opposing armies is somewhat brief at three pages, but covers aspects specific to the campaign, like Duryee's Zouaves and the Iron Brigade. The campaign narrative begins with two short chapters on the preliminary actions at Cedar Mountain and Brawner's Farm. The actual Battle of Second Manassas is covered in 25 pages, followed by a short postscript and notes on the battlefield today. An excellent order of battle is provided for both armies in the final appendix. There are five 2-D maps (Virginia in July 1862, the Battle of Cedar Mountain, the road to Second Manassas, the Battle of Groveton, and Lee's flanking movement to Chantilly) and three 3-D "Bird's Eye View" maps of the Battle of Second Manassas. Three battle scenes depict the truce at Cedar Mountain, the Iron Brigade at Brawner's Farm and the stand of Starke's Louisiana brigade at the Railroad cut. The photographs are decent - particularly if one likes portraits of civil war generals and scenes of torn-up railroads - but rather bland, given the level of civil war illustrations and artwork available.

Dr. Langellier's campaign narrative is solid and hits all the main points. Certainly, the inept performance of Union General John Pope was clearly the proximate cause of the Federal defeat at Second Manassas. There is no attempt at analysis in this account, although certainly not necessary from the command angle. In terms of the principles of war, the Confederates enjoyed the virtues of the offensive, maneuver, security and surprise, while the Union leaders seemed content to ignore the threat until too late. However, a bit more analysis on the role of supporting units, particularly artillery, would have been helpful. Overall, Second Manassas provides a decent overview of this often-neglected campaign.

While this book claimed to provide the inside story of the world's elite special forces, all it really did was highlite past missions. Between beraiding the US capabilities and predicting WWIII, Adams never really gives us any story that wasn't in the paper. Anyway, try the Commandos by Douglas Waller if you want a good account of US elite fighters.

Boyes and LeBor have very skillfully taken up the debate over the responsibility of everyday Germans (and others under the Third Reich)in the Holocaust.

Although the book strays from its study of Germany--spending much of its energy on France, Hungary and, indeed, on the ethical choices Jews were also forced to make--it is a powerful account.

In the introduction the authors make a point lost in many studies of the Third Reich: that tyranny relies as much on concensus as terror. They go on to document with depressing detail how everyday Germans under Hitler were not simply cowed into accepting and watching the Reich's crimes, but had far great choices available to them in how they might resist or collaborate. Sadly, many collaborated zealously with little persuasion necessary, and frequently simply for personal profit.

This phenomenon, of course, is not unique to Nazi Germany, and it may be this book's highest achievement that it prods the reader to ask the question: "What would I have done?"

I read this book for my liberal studies course at Western Washington. I found the selections to be interesting, and insightful. They were picked well, and although complicated subjects, they were presented in a way so that it was easy for the reader to grasp the concepts. If you are going to read Adam Smith, I strongly recommend this edition.

I love the art in this book--it's elegant, clear, and nicely done. The story however, needs work. I have the first two books, and I have yet to understand most of what they are talking about. What are the Emblem Seeds? They tell us where they found them, but not what they are. We have yet to learn the connection between the Seeds and their holders, or what the purpose of the Seeds is. And the wording is so...unusual...that it is taking me some time and several re-readings just to try and figure out what the author is trying to say.

By the way, this is a very...adult series. There is not really any nudity, but the female characters are so overendowed that you begin to wonder how they can stand. And there is gore--one of the female characters gets blown in half, and her...resurrection is shown in very bloody and graphic detail.
So, this is not a series for the fragile. If you think you can deal with seeing body parts ripped off and people cut in two and a great deal of blood and organs, then give Seraphic Feather a try. If not, well, there are other choices out there.

This looks to be a good series, but I would rather know some vital information that I think I missed somewhere. And I wish I had known about the horror aspect.